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In more ways than one, the Brooklyn Nets need new leadership and a new identity.

Owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s blind pursuit of stars from 2010-2014 resulted in the underwhelming club you see this season, so he’s a part of the problem. But he’s not going anywhere. For now, the Nets’ front office will have to focus on filling the recently vacated general manager and head coaching positions.

The eventual new GM will obviously have a huge responsibility to reshape the roster and establish a new approach. But the head coach will have a more hands-on role to determine how exactly that roster compete on the floor.

Former assistant Tony Brown has taken over for Lionel Hollins on an interim basis while Brooklyn searches for the optimal long-term head coach. Who is the ideal candidate to lead this franchise back to contention?

Remember, we’re not ranking these nominees based on who has the best chance to land the job, but rather who would be the best man for this club. We didn’t include anyone who currently holds a head coaching position in the NBA.

5. Luke Walton (Age 35)

NBA HC Experience: 1 year (GSW 2015-16)

Average O-Rating/D-Rating: 113.5/ 102.4 (+11.1)

Walton cracks our list for a couple of reasons. Obviously, he has our attention thanks to the superb job he’s done supervising the Warriors’ historic 2015-16 campaign, but he’s also a young, energetic presence who has a wealth of basketball knowledge for a 35-year-old. That’s a huge plus.

He’d undoubtedly boost Brooklyn’s perimeter attack and implement effective mixtures of sets on both ends of the floor. Walton has seen the effects of Phil Jackson’s triangle, Mike D’Antoni’s ultra-speedy attack and Steve Kerr’s multifaceted sets firsthand.

Even though he lands on our list of top candidates to take the job, he wouldn’t likely take the offer unless it was the only one available. And even then, no one would blame him if he waited until a more promising franchise came calling.

4. Jeff Van Gundy (Age 53)

NBA HC Experience: 11 years (NYK 1996-2002, HOU 2003-07)

Average O-Rating/D-Rating: 102.6/ 100.9 (+1.7)*

Van Gundy’s in the mix because of his experience, track record and ability to coach in the market of New York. For the most part, his Knicks and Rockets teams played stout defense, and Van Gundy did a nice job developing the frontcourt and backcourt.

However, the downside to Van Gundy is that he hasn’t coached in nearly nine years. Even though that isn’t an absurd amount of time, and he’s only 53 years old, the league has transformed tremendously since 2007.

Would he be able to acclimate to today’s game? To a degree, absolutely. But I’m not sure he’s the absolute best candidate to creatively adapt and catapult the franchise up the Eastern Conference standings.

*Stats include Van Gundy’s 10 full seasons as a head coach.

3. Ettore Messina (Age: 56)

NBA HC Experience: None (20 years in Europe, two-plus years as NBA assistant/consultant)

*Currently assistant coach of San Antonio Spurs

Messina coached Prokhorov’s CSKA Moscow club and won a couple of Euroleague titles there, but the Italian skipper’s qualifications for the Nets’ job are much more substantive than that.

He’s coached countless eventual NBA players and former NBA players in Europe, including Manu Ginobili, Marco Belinelli, Andrea Bargnani and Nikola Mirotic. More importantly, Messina preaches fundamentals and works tirelessly to get his squads to work together. He discussed his approach to Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News:

Prepare yourself, share the ball and win your matchup — the basics…The key to our sport is players must understand there are moments where you must be unselfish, because you have somebody who is in a better position than your position…

Despite his lack of NBA head coaching experience, Messina could have a successful run with Brooklyn. He has a sharp grasp of the game’s evolution in America and globally, and he’d make sure the Nets play a healthy brand of hoops.

2. Mark Jackson (Age: 50)

NBA HC Experience: 3 years (GSW 2011-14)

Average O-Rating/D-Rating: 106.4/ 105.7 (+0.7)

Jackson’s reputation takes a hit because Steve Kerr and Co. vastly improved the Golden State Warriors vastly after his dismissal. While the Dubs obviously made the right move and Kerr is a better coach, Jackson had that club moving in the right direction.

In three seasons, he took them from a losing team to a 50-win club and developed the championship core. When healthy, his Warriors were one of the three or four best teams in the Western Conference.

He may not win a title within three or four years, but depending on the roster’s talent, Jackson has the chops to point the Nets in the right direction and into the playoffs. Jackson knows how to create offenses that work outside and inside, and his defensive results in Golden State weren’t shabby (in 2013-14, the Dubs’ defensive rating was 4th in the league). The Brooklyn native knows how to motivate and get a group to play together.

1. Tom Thibodeau (Age: 58)

NBA HC Experience: 5 years (CHI 2010-15)

Average O-Rating/D-Rating: 105.8/ 101.3 (+4.5)

If you watched any of the Chicago Bulls’ Thibodeau era, you know that he’s the epitome of a hard-nosed, defensive-minded coach. Thibs specializes in corralling opponents’ pick-and-rolls, protecting the paint and keeping players accountable for defensive improvement.

It’s not as if Lionel Hollins didn’t value defense. It’s just that Thibodeau will probably be able to do more with less, especially while the roster is still rebuilding. He kept the Bulls competitive even when some of their biggest stars sidelined, like Derrick Rose.

Despite fallout with Bulls, Thibs is a phenomenal basketball mind. Would really like to see him develop guys like Hollis-Jefferson.

— Anthony Puccio (@APOOCH) January 13, 2016

Would he accept a job offer? The odds aren’t great, especially if other teams pursue him. And he might want front office or personnel control as well. But if he somehow became the Nets’ skipper, he’d do a splendid job.